North Carolina is arguably the hotbed of Division I men’s college basketball in the United States. If you combine the historical glory of Duke University, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University, 13 of the last 50 national championships teams have hailed from North Carolina.
Thus, college basketball betting in the Tar Heel State is bound to be a hit. Here are the best online sportsbooks you’ll find to bet on college basketball.
Best college basketball betting sites in North Carolina
Below you will find a quick look at some of our favorite North Carolina online sportsbooks to make your NCAA college basketball bets.
DraftKings Sportsbook North Carolina
One of the biggest names in the industry, DraftKings made the move to becoming a sportsbook almost immediately after it was legalized.
DraftKings Sportsbook NC has a super smooth, intuitive app, a big new player bonus, good promotions for existing bettors and a huge selection of betting odds. Other positives include:
- All bet types for most NCAA college basketball games
- Both a free and a paid version of March Madness contests
- A huge selection of live NCAA basketball betting
DraftKings throws out some solid promotions to get customers around March Madness. One season, they offered a $200 payout in the form of bonuses on any successful $5 bet. Similar offers can be expected every NCAAB season.
FanDuel Sportsbook North Carolina
Once a company that trailed DraftKings in the daily fantasy sports market, FanDuel has managed to become the top sportsbook in multiple states.
It has one of the best betting apps available, and the browsing is praised by bettors across the country. FD also has a big welcome bonus for new customers and cranks out promos to its existing customer base. At FanDuel NC Sportsbook, you’ll get access to:
- Competitive lines on practically every Division I men’s basketball game
- Futures odds are available, as well as prop betting opportunities
- Easy-to-use features and outstanding customer service
One promotion that was run by FanDuel during basketball season was parlay insurance, paying back up to $25 if you lost a single leg of a parlay wager for NCAA college basketball games.
BetMGM Sportsbook North Carolina
The biggest perk of betting on college basketball at BetMGM Sportsbook in North Carolina is the extremely competitive lines for nearly every game. The same holds true for futures odds and prop bets.
BetMGM’s app is also considered easier to browse and navigate than many others. You’ll get:
- Competitive odds for all bet types, including futures and props
- Easy to deposit/withdraw funds from your account
- 24/7 customer service
BetMGM has a previous promo that gave a $10 live bonus bet for any player who wagered $25 or more on a single-game NCAA basketball parlay.
Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina
There are a lot of reasons bettors choose to use Caesars Sportsbook, but one of the most attractive has been Caesars almost always offering a half-point edge for bettors on college basketball point spreads. Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina also fields extremely competitive moneyline odds. Consider the following pros as well:
- Often is a half-point more favorable for bettors on point spreads
- A wide variety of deposit and withdrawal options
- Attractive welcome sign-up bonus offer
In the past, Caesars Sportsbook has run the appealing “Bet $20, Get $200” promo during March Madness.
How to bet on NCAA basketball online in NC
When you’re ready to start betting with North Carolina online sportsbooks, you’re going to need to sign up for an account. The process is straightforward, and you can sign up for accounts at multiple sportsbooks (although you can only have one account per book).
Here are the steps for setting up an online account:
- Use one of our links to go to any sportsbook and claim your new player bonus.
- Click sign-up: The link or button might also say “register,” but once you click it you’ll be taken to the page where you need to enter your personal information.
- Fill out the forms: You’ll need to provide personal information like your name, date of birth, last four digits of your Social Security number, your phone number, email, address and more. This is where you’ll also enter any NC sports betting bonus code that you need for that particular sportsbook (sometimes you don’t need a code).
- Accept the terms and conditions: Every sportsbook requires you to accept these, and we recommend you read through them before you do. However, if you choose not to read them, you can always go to the sportsbook website and read through them later.
- Make your deposit: Now you need to make your first deposit into your account and you’re ready to go. Once that is completed, you can start making bets.
Make sure to sign up for accounts only with sportsbooks that have been licensed in the state of North Carolina. Illegal sportsbooks often look legit but are capable of committing fraud and theft against customers who then have very little legal recourse.
How to read college basketball betting lines
For the uninitiated, reading NCAA basketball betting lines takes a bit of practice. Here’s what a typical basketball betting line looks like for the main bet types:
| Duke | -7.5 (-110) | -255 | Over 140.5 (-110) |
| UNC | +7.5 (-110) | +230 | Under 140.5 (-110) |
The first number to the right of the school names is the point spread, followed by the odds in parentheses. The next numbers, -255 and +230, are the moneyline odds. The final group is the totals and the odds for each.
- NCAA basketball point spread bets: Here, the University of North Carolina is the underdog at 7.5 points, which means bets on the Tar Heels will win if they lose by fewer than eight points or win the game outright. Bets on Duke pay out only if they win by eight points or more. The odds work the same way as they do for the moneyline bet.
- NCAA basketball moneyline bets: Moneyline bets can be very lopsided in college basketball, which sometimes makes it difficult to profit from the game. That said, these odds are all about which team straight-up wins. Negative odds tell you how much you need to wager in order to win $100. Positive odds tell you how much you stand to win for every $100 you bet.
- NCAA basketball totals bets: Also known as the over/under, totals bets don’t require you to pick a winner of the game. Instead, you need to determine whether the two teams’ combined points will land over or under the predicted amount. The odds work the same as they do for the moneyline bet.
Can I bet on NCAA basketball futures or props?
Prop bets are specific “side wagers” that typically focus on events that will happen during a game. Then, futures bets are focused on what is yet to come, like which team will win March Madness or a conference tournament.
Futures bets are posted well before the start of the college basketball season. In fact, some are available immediately following the end of the NCAA Tournament.
The sportsbook odds are pretty wild at that point as there isn’t nearly enough data to make more accurate predictions. But the longer you wait, the tighter the odds get. You have to decide at what point you have enough info versus the risk/reward.
Prop bets are focused on things like stats, scoring, which team leads at certain points and more. There are both player and team props at most sportsbooks, though there are several states that have banned prop bets on college-level players.
March Madness betting in North Carolina
March Madness, officially known as the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, is one of the most heavily bet events in the world.
There are more than 350 colleges and universities that compete in Division I basketball and 32 conferences that send their champion as an automatic bid to the tournament.
From there, the NCAA Selection Committee invites an additional 36 at-large teams to the tournament. That committee seeds the teams and determines the regions and the matchups.
Before the bracket officially gets underway, there’s the First Four to play. This single-elimination tournament is structured so there are 67 games played by the 64 teams in the field, which narrows down until the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four are finished. The national championship is then decided in the final game.
If you’re interested in betting on March Madness at an online North Carolina sportsbook, keep in mind that you can wager either individual games or the entire bracket, or both. You will be able to find both paid and free bracket contests at most large sportsbooks.
How is NCAAB betting different from NBA betting?
While both games are nearly identical, there are differences that matter when it comes to betting.
The NBA is full of the best players in the world, while college basketball is full of college-level players ranging wildly in talent and skill. That means there is a big difference between the worst college basketball programs and the elite, which leads to much bigger point spreads and much more lopsided moneyline odds.
The totals numbers are also going to be different because the college game is shorter with two halves at 20 minutes each. The NBA’s regulation is four 12-minute quarters.
Sportsbook rules for NCAA basketball
Every sportsbook has its own set of “house rules” by which everyone abides. They are part of the terms and conditions you agree to when signing up for an account. You can also find them online with a quick keyword search.
Here are some of the rules that nearly every sportsbook uses, but make sure to read through those at your sportsbook, so you can see what else they dictate.
- If a game is canceled or postponed, all bets made previously on that game are called off.
- Any bets specific to a single half of play will not be settled until that half is finished.
- Bets for full-game and second-half results will include any overtime periods unless otherwise specified.
- All college basketball bets are settled using only official NCAA statistics.
About the Author
